If ever the southern and northern divide was more apparent, it was at Hukeranui yesterday where the Whangarei sub-union rep team rolled over their Bay of Islands counterparts like a runaway train.
The Adriaan Ferris-coached Whangarei side ran in 12 tries without reply to win the Harding Shield 74-0.
"It wasn't easy
but the Southern Districts competition is clearly of a higher standard than up North ... when we can field a side today that doesn't include any of the Northland triallists," he said after the match.
"I think our structure was a little bit better than theirs and that was where we won it."
A little bit maybe.
The Bay of Islands squad fought hard - particularly in the first half and it took some great back play out wide for the Whangarei side to break their line.
The Bay side, starved of possession, started to fade towards the end of the spell and conceded three late tries in the spell to trail 38-0 at the break.
An injury break early in the second spell plus a number of changes saw the game lose some structure but when Whangarei started scoring again, a few of the Bay players started to lose their self-control and three players were sinbinned in the last 10 minutes - two of them for high tackles.
Ferris said Whangarei had not had a team in the competition for six or seven years and he hoped the big win would bring some credibility back to playing for Whangarei.
The former Marist coach, recently returned from Ireland, has been appointed as Northland development coach and several of the Whangarei side were obviously playing for places in that squad.
Old Boys fullback Ces Poa was one of the players who stood out, sparking several breaks with electric pace and a great off-loading ability.
But the backs earned a lot of their opportunities by the hard work the forwards put in.
The starting loose forward trio of Harley and Brent Murray and Regan Edwards were exceptional and the front row clearly had the edge over their northern counterparts.
"I'm surprised Harley and Brent [Murray] aren't involved in the [Northland] trial because they're both great players and Brent was dynamite today and is, hopefully, destined for higher honours," Ferris said.
Whangarei 74 (Ces Poa 2, Jack Walker, Brent Murray 2, Tony Paulo, Daniel McCully 2, Conor Matson, Elliot Nelson, Jamie Hitchcock, Troy Gilbert Walker 7 con)
Bay of Islands 0.
